Rationale: In order for children to be able to learn to read and
write,
they need to understand phonemes and learn how to detect them in words
and be able to match graphemes to phonemes. The letters b, d,
p, and q are often confused by children because they all
have
a ball sitting on the sidewalk. Also, students sometimes confuse
the sounds of b, d, and p because they can sound similar to the child
who
is not phonemically aware yet. This lesson will help children
identify
the /p/ in spoken words by learning a meaningful representation and a
letter
symbol, and then practice finding /p/ in words.

Materials: Primary paper and pencil, chart with “Peter
Piper
picked a peck of pickled peppers”, class set of cards with p on one
side, drawing paper and crayons, Dr. Seuss’s Hop on Pop,
popcorn
popper and popcorn.

Procedures:
1. Introduce the lesson by explaining that our written language is
a secret code. The tricky
part is learning what letters stand for ­ the
mouth moves we make as we say words.

2. Ask students: Have you ever popped popcorn with your
parents? What kind of sound did it
make? Today we are going to pop some popcorn
and while we do that I want us to listen to
what kind of sound it makes as it pops.
As the popcorn is popping, I would ask students:
what sound do you here? That’s
right!
/p/ /p/ /p/ /p/! (The popcorn could then be used as a
snack, but it will not, however, teach
anything
about the phoneme /p/ by eating the popcorn.
However, hearing the popcorn pop
should.)
The word pan has the /p/ /p/ /p/ sound. Some
more words that have the /p/ sound
are lap, nap, and price.

3. Now let’s try a tongue twister that has the /p/ sound it
(refer
to chart). “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Everybody
say it three times together. Now say it again, this time
machine gun the /p/ like this Ppppeter.
O.k? Now let’s all try it together. “Ppppeter Ppppiper ppppicked a ppppeck of ppppickled
ppppeppers.”
Let’s try it again. This time we
are going to break the /p/ sound away from
the word like this /P/ eter. Now let’s try it
together. “/P/ eter /P/
iper /p/ icked a /p/ eck of /p/
ickled /p/ eppers.” Great job!

4. (Have students take out primary paper and pencil). We can
use
the letter p to spell /p/. Let’s
write it. Draw a ball on the sidewalk.
Now on the left side draw a stick that goes from the
top of the ball to the bottom of the
ditch.
I would now like for you to hold up your p so I can
see it. Nice job. Now we are going
to make nine more just like it. When you see the letter
p in a word, that’s the signal to say
/p/.

5. Practice with recognizing the /p/ sound in words using
rhyming
riddles.

Beginning sounds - Directions: Class, I’m going
to
tell you of something I’m thinking that
begins with the /p/ sound and I want you
to tell me what it is. O.k?

I’m thinking of a colorful bird that can
talk.
Answer: parrot
I’m thinking of an animal that has a curly tail
and loves to eat. Answer: pig
I’m thinking of something that flies high in the
sky and can carry people from state to state.
Answer: plane
I’m thinking of a snack that people like to eat in the
movies. Answer: popcorn
I’m thinking of something that elephants like to
eat.
Answer: peanuts

Ending sounds ­ Directions: Class, I’m now going to
tell of something that I’m thinking of
that ends with the /p/ sound and I want you to
tell me what it is.

I’m thinking of something that people like to wear on
their
heads. Answer: cap
I’m thinking of an animal. This animal was lost
by Little Bo Peep. Answer: sheep
I’m thinking of something we use to scrub floors.
Answer: mop
I’m thinking of what bunnies do when they want to go from
here to there. Answer: hop

Phonemes in the middle ­ Directions: Class, I’m now
going to tell you of something that I’m
thinking of that has the /p/ sound somewhere in
the middle of the word.

I’m thinking of how someone feels when they are
smiling.
Answer: happy
I’m thinking of something that we sometimes find on coats
and pants. Answer: zipper

6. Read Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss and talk about the
story.
Read it again, having the students
hold up the p cards when they here /p/.
List the words on the board. As I read the story this
time, I want you to listen for the popping /p/
sound - if you here it hold up the card with the p
card.

7. Assessment: Tell the students to draw a picture (using
their
drawing paper and crayons)
of something has the /p/ sound in it. When
the students are finished with their pictures, split
them up in groups of four. Have them tell the group
about their picture and how it represents
something with the /p/ sound. While students
are in their groups, go around the room and look
at their pictures, making sure that they comprehended
the phoneme /p/. Work with those
students who seem confused.